Integrated Chemistry and Biology for First-Year College Students

A three-course sequence for first-year students that integrates beginning concepts in biology and chemistry has been designed. The first two courses that emphasize chemistry and its capacity to inform biological applications are described here. The content of the first course moves from small to large particles with an emphasis on membrane macrostructures and protein structure. Critical to this progression is an understanding of strong and weak bonding interactions within and between macrostructure subunits. The Boltzmann distribution and Boltzmann entropy are used in the second course to rationalize enthalpy and entropy changes in biochemical reactions and consequences of the second law of thermodynamics. Biochemical processes in the second course include protein folding, hydration, ligand binding to proteins, ATP hydrolysis, protein redox reactions, and enzyme kinetics. Attitude assessment indicated students were overwhelmingly satisfied with the course sequence. Students had a broader view of interdisciplinary science after finishing the sequence compared to their counterparts in the traditional chemistry or biology sequence. For schools that do not have a three-term schedule, integrated biological examples are provided to help strengthen ties between chemistry and biology disciplines.